Turnover grew to €3,576m, while current operating income rose sharply in 2010 to €739m.
“The sharp improvement in Eramet’s results in 2010 reflects not only the Group’s resilience and ability to bounce back, but also its great responsiveness, stemming from its targeted positioning on attractive sectors,” said Patrick Buffet, Eramet chairman & CEO. “Eramet benefits from emerging countries’ growth on one had through price rises for our metals and on the other hand through the development of our sales.”
In particular there were increases in operating income in the company’s manganese and nickel areas, and a slight increase in alloys, with a 2010 turnover at €764m, increased slightly from 2009. The alloy division’s current operating performance recovered from a €49m loss in 2009 to a current operating income of €29m in 2010, of which €24m was recorded in the second half of the year. The tooling sector recovered from the very low activity of 2009 without regaining pre-crisis levels, while aerospace-related orders increased significantly.
“The Eramet Group is aiming to almost double its industrial capital expenditure in 2011 to more than €600 million and has all the financial and technological resources needed to reach its long term objective,” said Buffet.